Saudi Arabia and Sudan hold first joint naval exercises

February 17, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces have conducted their first joint maritime military exercise.

FILE - A Sudanese navy patrol boat patrols the waters close to where the Iranian Kharg replenishment ship and the Corvette Admiral Naghdi are docked in the Red Sea Sudanese town of Port Sudan on October 31, 2012. (ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images)

The disclosure was first made by the Commander of the navy base in Port Sudan, Admiral Magdi Sayed Omer, who told Al-Sudani daily newspaper that “the joint exercises will continue until next Thursday”.

He added that the drill comes in the framework of enhancing maritime diplomacy and Red Sea security.

Omer stressed that the current maneuvers are the first of their kind and will form a starting point for joint efforts aimed at securing the Red Sea and strengthening relations between Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

Later the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) spokesperson Colonel Al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad told state news agency (SUNA) that the purpose of the joint exercise is to train the naval forces in both countries on combating the different kinds of smuggling.

Col. Sa’ad added that Sawarmi said that this is the first exercise of its kind between Sudan and Saudi Arabia stressing that they will continue in the future.

He said that Sudan received two Saudi ships along with an unspecified number of Saudi special forces and marines.

Sudan’s controversial decision to allow two Iranian warships to dock at Port Sudan last October angered its Arab Gulf state neighbours, raising questions about the level of military cooperation between the two countries.

The arrival of the Iranian warships coincided with the bombing of Khartoum’s Al-Yarmook military factory rumoured to be linked to Tehran, with the Sudanese government accusing Israel of carrying out the attack.

Khartoum’s links with Tehran have been met with suspicion, particularly in the Gulf.

The Saudi pro-government Al-Riyadh newspaper blasted Khartoum over the Iranian warships, questioning the logic behind the relationship between the two countries in a heavily critical editorial published that month titled “The fall of masks between Iran and Sudan”.

“Bashir’s government resorting to a state that is in political and security odds with most Arab countries has no logical justification,” the newspaper said.

The editorial accused the Sudanese government of “conducting naive policy”, saying it had turned the country, despite its enormous potential, into a marginalised nation that is unable to attract Arab or foreign investors.

The Sudanese army spokesperson told media at the time the arrival of the warships had nothing to do with the destruction of the Al-Yarmook facility, saying the visit was pre-planned before the airstrike and aimed at sharing military expertise.

Khartoum also denied reports that suggested the arms factory was producing Iranian weapons.

Last November, Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti publicly criticised the government for allowing Iran’s naval warships to dock in Port Sudan, saying the government’s actions were hurting its relations with its Arab Gulf state neighbours.

He also denied that the country received any request from Tehran to forge an alliance aimed at protecting the Red Sea.

(ST)

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18 February 2013 06:54, by zulu

The gimmics of all time. And what is the geopolitical implications of all these shfts?

Sudan nowadays
sudan is piece of hell nowadays
with the worst economy in the whole world ;;;;sudan became visionless country after succession of rich south sudan from sudan about a year ago ;;;;;;and now the situation in khartoum is very bad

As i came from khartoum yesterday there is nothing good there
you can not get a single dollar in either black market or bank
when you want to get dollar in kh sudan ;;;;;what you have to do is ;;
buy a phone go to another and then sell it and change it to dollar and then come back to sudan as a rich

Ncp in power
the national criminal party last year decieved people that they had discovered new oil fields which is a total lie
who knows why ncp is decieving sudan citizens like that
the answer is simple;;

El bashir in chad
this gay called bashir was in chad last friday ;;
he survive from icc arrest the same way he did in kenya in 2010;;;;
as he arrived in chadian capital ndjamena,he was asked by chadian president what he wanted and here is what el bashir said

Please forgive us what we did in darfur ;;;;;we have accused you falsely ;;please forgive us said innocent bashir while scared by icc in the seceret meeting that they had with chadian president in the
he was scared that he could be arrested by icc

I came here to beg you to pass your oil through our sea port(port sudan) since south sudan shut down its oil we are suffering said el bashir while shivering like person suffering from cold
i tried to convienced south sudan presiden to resume the oil but he refused said gay bashir

This Criminal party practice their activities openly will face their deed one day because the world knows what they are doing. But North Sudan first caustics who spread that because she has been done the terror activities since 1993. osam was hidden in North Sudan in 1993 north sudan is black list.

Holyshit!!! what a political joke! joint naval exercises? who cares. And I think mr.Jalaba, you just forgot the correct name for it, you should called it joined TERRORIST instead; that wuold sounds much better.

Its good to have naval exercises with iur brothers, but like Pif Paf before said, its better to concentrate on ground forces than the navy! the possible upcoming war will be fought on the ground, not see because those poor suckers haven’t even got a navy or air force!

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